Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) Stock Jumps 2.3% – Should You Buy?

Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM) shares traded up 2.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $234.36 and last traded at $227.2190. 6,495,060 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 13,151,128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.20.

Trending Headlines about Salesforce

Here are the key news stories impacting Salesforce this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Salesforce to Rank #1 (Strong Buy), citing improving earnings prospects—a potential near-term tailwind for the stock. Salesforce Moves to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Salesforce agreed to acquire AI customer-service startup Cresta in a deal reported at about $2.7 billion. The purchase could expand its AI offerings and customer-service capabilities. Salesforce Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Cresta
• Neutral Sentiment: A report notes Salesforce shares have previously rebounded after falling at least 50% from a record high, gaining about 63% and 44% in the year following the two earlier episodes. The historical pattern may encourage long-term investors, but does not predict a repeat. What History Suggests After Salesforce’s Major Declines
• Negative Sentiment: The Cresta deal is Salesforce’s fifth major acquisition this year, raising concerns about the cost and complexity of integrating multiple purchases while the stock is under pressure. Salesforce’s AI Acquisition Spending
• Negative Sentiment: ETFs were net sellers of $15.2 million in Salesforce shares on Nov. 2, while a shelf registration for 609,118 shares tied to an employee stock ownership plan renewed attention to potential dilution. ETFs Are Net Sellers of Salesforce Salesforce Files Share Offering

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Salesforce in a research report on Monday, October 12th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Salesforce from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Bank of America raised shares of Salesforce from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Salesforce in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Salesforce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $278.98.

Salesforce Trading Up 2.3%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $239.53 and a 200 day moving average of $198.72. The company has a market capitalization of $187.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The CRM provider reported $5.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $2.63. Salesforce had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.91 earnings per share. Salesforce’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Salesforce has set its FY 2027 guidance at 16.670-16.710 EPS and its Q3 2027 guidance at 3.420-3.440 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Salesforce Inc. will post 12.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 17th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 17th. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Salesforce news, Director Craig Conway sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.61, for a total value of $1,172,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 5,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,416,936.57. This represents a 45.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Blair Kirk acquired 4,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $239.33 per share, with a total value of $999,442.08. Following the purchase, the director owned 18,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,486,958.84. This trade represents a 28.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,396,844,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Salesforce by 130.2% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,659,217 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $2,363,096,000 after buying an additional 7,160,302 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,914,086,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Salesforce during the second quarter valued at approximately $927,332,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Salesforce during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $844,928,000. 80.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc (NYSE: CRM) is a global enterprise software company that provides cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) technology. Its platform helps organizations manage sales, customer service, marketing, commerce, data, analytics and interactions with customers across digital and traditional channels.

The company’s products include Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, Commerce Cloud and Data Cloud. Salesforce also offers Tableau for data visualization and analytics, MuleSoft for application integration, and Slack for workplace collaboration.